ACLS Collaborative Research Awards

ACLS invites applications for the inaugural competition for the ACLS Collaborative Research Awards. These awards support collaborative research in the humanities and related social sciences (1). A grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supports this program. Collaborations need not be interdisciplinary or inter-institutional, but must involve at least two scholars; applicants at the same institution must demonstrate why local funding is insufficient to support the project. It is hoped that projects of successful applicants will help demonstrate the range and value of both collaborative research and inquiry in the humanities, and model how such collaboration may be carried out successfully. Collaborations that involve the participation of assistant and associate faculty members, or that of scholars at different kinds of institutions, are particularly encouraged.

Objectives

The aim of this program is to offer teams of two or more scholars the opportunity to collaborate intensively on a single, substantive project. Each project should

• Seek salary-replacement stipends for supported research leaves for at least two scholars during fellowship tenure to pursue collaborative research;
• Yield tangible research outcomes, such as joint publications, web projects, or other collaboratively produced projects.

The award is for a total period of up to 24 months, to be initiated between July 1, 2009 and September 1, 2011. The award includes stipends to allow up to an academic year’s leave from teaching for at least two participants, as well as up to $20,000 in collaboration costs to facilitate face-to-face and virtual interactions. The collaboration funds may be used for such purposes as 1) travel to meet periodically during the tenure of the award; 2) materials, such as books or modest technical support to enable collaborative work; or 3) research assistance as is necessary to facilitate the collaborative project.

Awards amounts will range from $60,000 to $140,000 in total, depending on the nature and duration of the collaboration, the kinds of expenses projected to carry out the research, and the number of collaborators. Salary-replacement stipends are based on academic rank: up to $35,000 for Assistant Professor and career equivalent; up to $40,000 for Associate Professor and career equivalent; and up to $60,000 for full Professor and career equivalent.

Projects will be judged by their quality and the extent to which project participants have the expertise appropriate and necessary to carry out the work, with special emphasis paid to the collaborative aspects of the project.

The Project Coordinator and the Application Process

One member of the project team must be designated as the Project Coordinator. The Project Coordinator is responsible for starting the application, entering the names and email addresses of the other collaborator(s), completing the project sections of the application, and submitting the application. The Project Coordinator is further responsible for ensuring that all collaborators in the project have submitted their elements of the application. It is anticipated that the Project Coordinator’s institution will administer the funds for collaboration costs. Please note that for the purposes of this fellowship, only scholars who are requesting ACLS funding for research leaves are considered collaborators. If the project includes other participants (not requesting funding for a research leave), please list them in your proposal document and explain their roles in the project.

Once the Project Coordinator has entered the list of collaborators into the application, each scholar will receive an email with registration information and a code to link them to the group application. Each project collaborator will complete the individual sections of the application (including personal and professional information), enter information for two reference letters, and upload a publications list. The Project Coordinator will complete the project section of the application and will the upload the project proposal. All collaborators will have reading access to the project section of the application, but only the Project Coordinator will be able to enter and update the project section.

Eligibility Guidelines

A collaborative project is constituted of at least two scholars who are seeking salary-replacement stipends for supported research leaves to dedicate a substantial amount of research time to the collaborative project during the fellowship tenure.

1. The project coordinator must have an appointment at an institution of higher education; other project members may be independent scholars.
2. The project coordinator must be at a U.S.-based institution; other project members may be at institutions outside the United States or may be independent scholars.
3. All project collaborators must hold a Ph.D. degree or its equivalent in publications and professional experience.

Application Requirements

Applications must include:

• Completed application form
• Proposal (no more than 10 pages, double-spaced). The proposal should explain the process and product of the collaboration. It should make clear the goal of the collaboration, its structure, how credit and acknowledgement would be determined, and how the process and project of collaboration would be mutually informing. Finally, the proposal should explain how collaboration enables research that is intellectually innovative and produces a final outcome that would be more productive than the sum of individual efforts of the project members.
• Up to two additional pages of images, musical scores, or other similar supporting non-text materials
• Participant Information Sheet, listing all project members and identifying the project coordinator for administrative purposes
• Research Plan, including a timeline of the proposed research activities, including the location, duration, and names of individuals involved in each stage. This may be in the form of a graphic timeline or narrative description.
• Bibliography (no more than three pages) that places the project in intellectual context and should include representative work in all of the disciplines involved in the project
• Budget statement, outlining: salary replacement, and costs of research assistance, travel, and research materials
• Publications list for each collaborator (no more than three pages for each collaborator)
• At least four reference letters, with two letters for each project collaborator

Criteria Used in Judging Collaborative Research Award Applications

Peer reviewers in this program are asked to evaluate all eligible proposals on the following five criteria:

1. The intrinsic quality of the proposal and the clarity with which it is conveyed,
2. The significance of the project for research in the humanities (the general and specific fields in which it figures),
3. The plan of work,
4. The training and professional experience of the researchers (relative to their career stages), and
5. The extent to which the proposed project would serve as a model for other collaborative research projects.

1. Appropriate fields of specialization include but are not limited to: American studies; anthropology; archaeology; art and architectural history; classics; economics; film; geography; history; languages and literatures; legal studies; linguistics; musicology; philosophy; political science; psychology; religious studies; rhetoric, communication, and media studies; science, technology, and medicine studies; sociology; and theater, dance, and performance studies. Proposals in the social science fields listed above are eligible only if they employ predominantly humanistic approaches (e.g., economic history, law and literature, political theory). Proposals in interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary studies are welcome, as are proposals focused on any geographic region or on any cultural or linguistic group. Back to text.